Wednesday, March 18, 2009

VOMITING, SHITTING, & MACHU PICCHU

Four Day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu...

PHEW! What an experience!!!

The best way I can explain all that happened is by doing my best to briefly summarize day by day. Here I go:

DAY ONE (14/03/2009):

First, we hiked for about three hours passing Wayllabamba with a break for lunch. Amazing soup, rice, vegetables, avocado, salad, cheeses, and juice! We only had 10 minutes to digest before our guide rushed us to move forward. At first, we paced slow but then hit some pretty steep hills. Another 4 hours of hiking before reaching our final resting camp. I didn't want to hire a porter or "Chasqui" to carry my backpack but DAMN...my back was so sore! I packed light but ended up having to carry an additional sleeping bag, folding mattress, and two liters of water. Surprisingly, the extra weight was significant enough for me to get a Chasqui for the next day. Word. I wasn't trying to feel that way again!

DAY TWO (15/03/2009):

I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED but somewhere around 1 in the morning, I had to get up and felt sicker than I've been in a long time! I had to keep running to the bathroom and ended up vomiting more than I would have liked. Looked up at the moonlight illuminating our campsite and just wanted to enjoy the gorgeous views but felt horrible. Day two was the roughest!!! 9 hours of STRAIGHT UP HILL hiking! We mounted Dead Woman's Pass and began our descent to the campsite. There were no bathrooms on the way so needless to say, I had a not so wonderful time making offerings to "Pachamama" (Mother Earth) on the side of trails. We managed to visit Sayacmarca where our guide gave us a deep briefing on the history of the Incas. I was emotionally involved with all of the sites and soaked in as much as I could without taking photos. However, by the time we reached our resting place, I couldn't even eat dinner. I went straight to sleep!

DAY THREE (16/03/2009):

I had another night of intense stomach pains and back 2 back bathroom visits. Good news though: By morning, I felt MUCH better. By lunch, I felt as good as can be. The hiking trails were much easier and along the way, we visited some beautiful ruins. We passed Phuyupatamarca & Winay Wayna where the Incas had built extraordinary military view points and passages. We reached our campsite by 3pm and was done with hiking for the day! The break helped me rejuvenate my energy and prepare for the next morning. Had a Toblerone for the first time in my life and GEEZZZ...I'm not a big fan of chocolate but one piece got me hooked! Ate dinner with the group and had so much fun laughing & joking. By 9pm though, it was time to knock out...

DAY FOUR (17/03/2009):

Somehow, the stomach pains returned and I was back in the bathroom! The worst part about it was that the bathrooms have NO toilet seats so you kinda have to...squat and uh...let go! I refuse to go into further detail. By 4am, everyone was up and ready to hike to Machu Picchu. There was a long line of travelers waiting to get in. Feeling worse than before, I pushed ahead of the group and hiked without stopping...pretty much without thinking. I didn't want to pay attention to how much pain I was in so I kept it moving at a speed that had everyone asking me to slow down. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and made a few more offerings to Pachamama. Ooohhhhhhh!!! Whatever happened to private stalls and personal space for these kind of things??? Finally, we reached Intipunku (Sun's gate) and took a few pictures. The view was incredible and we were lucky enough to view Machu Picchu in the distance with perfect weather above us. We made it down to Control and began our path to the sacred city. The experience was indescribable. The rocks and stones were placed so perfectly at a time when hands were still artists and civilizations still knew who they were.

Overall, many changes took place within and it was indeed refreshing to hang out with people from all over the world. Unheard accents, personal stories, and unique perspectives. Finished the last day by staying in pools of bubbling hot water with a Pina Colada in Aguas Calientes with Bob Marley playing in the background. Yeah...I think that's how you're supposed to end 4 days of hiking! I was the 2nd youngest on the trip and felt so accomplished to have done this at such a young age. Despite the difficulties, I survived and in return, have learned so much. I am proud of who I am becoming. It felt so rewarding to do all of this on my own with my money that I saved through working and doing shows over the past year. Many things to look forward to in this life.

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About

"Pages From My Skin" is Intikana's online blog that takes an inside look into both his career and personal life. Some of these entries come directly from his touring journals and scrapbooks. Feel free to comment and connect on this ever-evolving journey to the unknown.

About Me

INTIKANA is an artist, educator, and filmmaker born and raised in the Bronx. He has featured on VH1 and toured across the United States, Canada, Cuba, Borikén (Puerto Rico), Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Tanzania, Afrika while sharing the stage with artists such as KRS-One, Immortal Technique, Jay Electronica, Raekwon of Wu-Tang, Jay-Z, J Cole, Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco, Styles P, M1 of Dead Prez, The Last Poets, Saul Williams, among others. He is the 2014 End Of The Weak USA National MC Challenge Champion and will be traveling to Uganda, Afrika in October 2014 to compete in the World Finals. As a touring artist and Urban Word NYC Youth Mentor, Intikana has performed and facilitated workshops at hundreds of universities/colleges, high schools, elementary/middle schools, community centers, group homes, and prison facilities. He is the recipient of the 2013 Taino Areito Award for "Filmmaker of The Year" and is founder of Stampede Fireflies Inc. which is a multi-media production company that aims to educate and heal through art. For more info, visit: www.intikana.net